1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hunting equipment and accessories, and particularly to a hunting decoy that provides a freestanding decoy depicting multiple animals in a realistic image viewable from any direction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hunters commonly employ the use of lures, and particularly hunting decoys, in order to attract a particular animal to a target location. Hunting decoys typically provide a visual simulation of the type of animal that is being hunted, and are typically rendered to full scale. An animal observing the decoy believes the hunting decoy to be a genuine animal of the same species, and thus believes the location to be safe for feeding or other purposes.
Decoys that simulate an animal in all three dimensions (i.e., a life-size, scale model of the animal) are generally employed for usage with small animals, since larger three-dimensional decoys are both heavy and unwieldy. For larger animals, such as deer, two-dimensional simulations are commonly utilized.
These two-dimensional simulations typically include a panel that is painted, or otherwise imprinted, with a life-like rendering of the particular animal. Such two-dimensional simulations, however, only provide a realistic simulation when viewed from a particular range of angles. When the target animal views the decoy outside of this range, the two-dimensional nature of the decoy becomes apparent. Such decoys are usually fixed to the ground by one or more stakes or spikes, or fixed to a tree trunk, tree branch, or whatever other supporting structure may be at hand.
Further, hunting decoys typically only present a simulation of a single animal. The effectiveness of a lone decoy in attracting game is debatable. Some hunters feel that game is only attracted to a herd, or at least a pair of animals. When it is desired to lure the game by decoys depicting two or more animals close together, it becomes necessary to stake multiple decoys at the same location, and further, it is necessary to point multiple decoys in several directions to simulate multiple animals when viewed from any direction. Thus, a hunting decoy solving the aforementioned problems is desired.